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The purpose of this agreement is to ensure a balance between research and teaching tasks, so that the faculty can continuously offer research-based teaching and conduct research, knowledge exchange, and talent development in accordance with the provisions of the University Act. The agreement aims to ensure that academic staff at SDU-HUM have uniform conditions and transparency regarding the work carried out at the individual departments and programmes. Additionally, the agreement includes working time norms for academic staff with only teaching and administrative tasks and without research obligations.
The agreement also aims to establish simple guidelines so that managers and employees can, through dialogue, agree on the most optimal distribution of tasks within the departments as a whole. -
This agreement establishes norms for:
- Teaching and preparation, including feedback, supervision, and examination.
- Administrative tasks, including those specifically related to teaching and research.
The remaining working hours of academic staff are expected to be spent on research, research dissemination, and other research-related activities.
The norms are set based on the following considerations:
- To establish time compensations that clarify the expected average time expenditure for the various tasks.
- To set time compensations for teaching and preparation, including feedback, supervision, and examination activities, in a transparent manner.
- To set time compensations for administrative tasks in a transparent manner.
With the conclusion of this working time agreement, no local agreements can be introduced at the department level beyond what this agreement specifically allows. If there is a need for local changes in time norms due to exceptional, lasting circumstances, changes are agreed upon with the dean and the Joint Union Representative, and the Cooperation Committee is informed.
A full academic staff year (with five weeks of holiday and one week of special leave) is calculated as 1,642 hours per year, equivalent to 821 hours per semester. A teaching hour corresponds to a scheduled hour of 45 minutes. Compensations are calculated in working hours.
It is the responsibility of the departments to keep records of employees' time status and to send an up-to-date balance statement to each employee once per semester. Surplus and deficit hours must be discussed at least once a year, for example, in connection with the annual performance review, to ensure balance over time. It is the duty of the head of the department to ensure that the time accounting for each individual is balanced (0 hours), with the possibilities for fluctuations mentioned below. -
An individual lecturer's time accounting is a tool that allows for the adjustment of the balance between teaching and research, so that a deficit of hours is seen as deferred teaching obligation, and a surplus of hours is seen as deferred research obligation. A surplus in the accounting cannot be claimed for payment by the employee, and a deficit cannot be claimed for repayment by the department. In the event of an excess or deficit, the head of the department and the employee must agree on a plan to ensure balance over time. There should be a focus on preventing systematic accumulation of hours.
An individual temporary agreement on a different distribution of working hours than mentioned below can be made. This can occur in connection with transitioning to senior terms of employment or in other situations where a different distribution of research and teaching/administration time may be appropriate. The possibility of such an agreement can be discussed during the annual performance review. For lecturers, an agreement must involve the union representative. Professors can make agreements themselves but are encouraged to involve the union representative.
Savings schemes can be introduced at a department to ensure the possibility of systematically saving for teaching-free semesters. Participation in the savings scheme is voluntary for each employee. Agreements on the scheduling of teaching-free semesters are made with the head of the department, taking into account the department's overall task portfolio.-
For associate professors and full professors, the allocation of hours for tasks related to research and knowledge exchange is initially set at 45 percent of the total working hours (742 hours per year), while tasks related to teaching, including supervision, talent development, and other teaching-related and administrative tasks, including assessment work and research management tasks (see section 5.1 below), are initially set at 55 percent of the total working hours (900 hours per year).
An excess of teaching hours can be advantageous, for example, for saving up for periods with partial or complete teaching-free time. However, the excess must not exceed 900 hours, and similarly, the deficit must not be greater than 450.
Externally and internally funded buyouts for research and/or development tasks affect the distribution of working hours between teaching and research. How the buyout impacts the employee's other research or teaching tasks is agreed with the head of the department once the application has been approved, with the aim of accommodating the employee's overall task portfolio, the project's requirements, and the department's tasks. It is possible to agree on entire teaching-free semesters, but exemption from teaching for more than one year must be presented to the dean. Buyouts for research management will always be buyouts during teaching time. -
For fixed-term lecturers, the same work obligations apply as for professors and lecturers. Since it is not always possible to meet the teaching obligation exactly, a deviation of 60 working hours in either positive or negative favour at the end of the employment period for a fixed-term lectureship is acceptable.
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For assistant professors, the allocation of hours for tasks related to research and knowledge exchange is initially set at 63 percent of the total working hours (1,042 hours per year), while tasks related to teaching and, to a limited extent, administration constitute 37 percent of the total working hours (600 hours per year). There is no separate compensation for participation in university pedagogy courses.
An excess of teaching hours can be advantageous, for example, for saving up for a teaching-free semester. However, the surplus must not exceed 400 hours, and the deficit must not exceed 300 hours during the employment period. The overall teaching schedule for an assistant professorship should aim to provide the assistant professor with a teaching-free semester, ideally placed in the middle of the period.
Since it is not always possible to meet the teaching obligation exactly, a deviation of 60 working hours in either positive or negative favour at the end of the employment period for a fixed-term assistant professorship is acceptable.
When transitioning from a tenure track assistant professorship to a lectureship, any surplus or deficit in teaching hours will be carried over. -
A PhD student is required to undertake tasks for the employing institution amounting to 840 working hours over three years. No more than 660 of these hours can be allocated to departmental tasks (teaching, examination, and assessment). The remaining part of the work obligation can consist of dissemination, research, library work, or other academic tasks (excluding administrative tasks), which are planned in collaboration with the supervisor and the PhD school director and included in the PhD plan.
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For teaching assistants and senior teaching assistants without research obligations, the total working hours amount to 1,642 hours per year. Of the total working hours, 15 percent (equivalent to 246 hours annually) is allocated to professional development (including, for example, academic and social meetings, introductory meetings on new IT systems, updating teaching portfolios, pedagogical and didactic competence development) and administrative work related to teaching that goes beyond the regular organisation of courses (tasks may include, but are not limited to, coordination of subjects with multiple instructors, mentoring and guiding part-time lecturers, student orientation activities, or similar). The remaining working hours per semester thus amount to 698 hours.
The head of the department should strive to ensure that the full-time teacher's remaining work obligation of 698 hours per semester is fulfilled. However, if this is not possible, the work obligation is considered fulfilled if the time load in a semester is between 650 and 698 hours. If the time load in a single semester exceeds 698 hours, the surplus is carried over to the next semester. A deficit below 650 hours is carried over to the next semester. The head of the department can approve that a work obligation is exceptionally fulfilled even if the time load is below 650 hours. It is the responsibility of the head of the department to ensure that the working hours are balanced for each employee. Since it is not always possible to meet the teaching obligation exactly, a deviation of 100 hours in either positive or negative favour is acceptable for senior teaching assistants and teaching assistants.
The above rules for working hours also apply to research assistants. If the research assistant is employed part-time, the teaching load is calculated as a fraction corresponding to the part-time employment.
Teaching assistants are compensated for completing university pedagogy courses with 270 hours distributed over two semesters.
When transitioning from a teaching assistant to a senior teaching assistant, any surplus or deficit in teaching hours will be carried over. -
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A special compensation pool (departmental pool) is established to compensate for significant operational and development tasks that fall outside the compensations set in the standard agreement. Tasks that can be compensated may include, but are not limited to, subject coordination, other coordination tasks, research management, editorial work, committees established at the departmental level, major revisions of study programmes, activities to improve the study environment, project applications, competence development, and initiatives related to the department's strategy.
It is not possible to compensate tasks from the departmental pool that are already standardised in this agreement.
The guidelines and principles for the distribution of the pool are determined by the head of the department in consultation with the departmental council and the department's union representative. The pool is managed and distributed by the head of the department. It must be possible for employees to apply for the pool themselves and to nominate colleagues. Likewise, agreements on shares of the pool can be made with the head of the department in advance.
For each professor and lecturer in the department, 25 hours per semester are allocated to the pool, and for each assistant professor, 10 hours. The pool's hours are primarily distributed to employees with research obligations but can be allocated to other job categories for specific tasks.
The pool is distributed once per semester. All hours in the pool should, in principle, be distributed at each allocation, but a surplus or deficit of 15 percent is acceptable.
The head of the department must ensure that an overview of the pool's distribution is prepared annually. This overview must be available to the department's employees and presented to the departmental council and the cooperation committee to evaluate whether the pool is functioning as intended. -
The basic compensation is allocated to employees with research obligations. An initial basic compensation of 30 working hours per semester is set aside for administrative work related to, among other things, teaching, which goes beyond the regular organisation of courses and is not separately compensated below. The number of hours should be regarded as an average time expenditure over several years. The compensation is independent of the specific teaching obligation in the given semester.
Tasks may include, but are not limited to, subject responsibility, coordination of subjects with multiple instructors, mentoring and guiding part-time lecturers in connection with subject responsibility, student orientation activities, or similar.
All research-based courses offered by the faculty have an assigned subject coordinator. The subject coordinator, together with the programme director and board, is responsible for the course description in the curriculum and must be consulted if the board wishes to change the wording. Likewise, the subject coordinator is the contact person for part-time lecturers who will teach the course.Deviations from Basic Compensation
For senior agreements and part-time employment, the basic compensation is reduced according to the employment fraction in an employment contract. If this creates challenges regarding workplace expectations, discussions with the manager and possibly the union representative are necessary.
Example: For a lecturer employed at 50%, the basic compensation is reduced to 15 hours.
For 100% buyouts on external projects for a full semester, the basic pool is eliminated - during the application phase, expectations must be aligned on how much the academic staff will contribute to the academic environment. The head of the department must involve the Head of Studies/research director.
The default for other buyouts is that everyone receives the basic compensation, but deviations can be agreed upon with the involvement of the union representative.
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The following provisions apply to all forms of teaching at bachelor's, master's, and PhD levels.
Teaching time is defined as the number of contact hours of 45 minutes each. Each contact hour of 45 minutes is compensated with 1 working hour. As a general rule, the instructor is compensated with 2.5 hours of preparation per contact hour, i.e., 3.5 hours in total.
For parallel teaching, the first group is compensated with 2.5 hours of preparation, and subsequent groups are compensated with 0.75 hours of preparation per contact hour, i.e., 1.75 hours in total.
A contact hour designated as a VIP exercise hour is compensated with 0.25 working hours for preparation, i.e., 1.25 hours in total. The number of contact hours compensated as VIP exercise hours is indicated in the "Internal Information" field in the course description. -
Feedback activities are set at 25 minutes multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the course. Compensation is only given if it is stated in the course description that feedback is included in the course.
The number of students enrolled in the course is recorded on 1st October and 1st March. -
The following standards for supervision and assessment have been determined in relation to
Bachelor project1st examination attempt
Subsequent examination attempts
1 sudent
10 working hours
1 working hour
2 students
15 working hours
1 working hour
3 students
20 working hours
1 working hour
Master’s thesis
1st examination attempt
Subsequent examination attempts
1 student
20 working hours
5 working hours
2 students
30 working hours
5 working hours
3 students
40 working hours
5 working hours
Master’s project
1st examination attempt
Subsequent examination attempts
1 student
12 working hours
1 working hour
2 students
18 working hours
1 working hour
3 students
24 working hours
1 working hour
In relation to theses and master’s projects with oral defence, working hours are extended by the duration of the oral test.
Project-oriented course
The Contact Committee for the Norm Agreement, at their meeting on 1st July, negotiated an amendment to the norm for the project-oriented course. The following clarifications are made regarding the project-oriented course:
The supervisor’s role in connection with the project-oriented course is defined as follows:- The supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the supervision agreement complies with the rules for the project-oriented course.
- The supervisor should provide limited guidance to the student in connection with the project-oriented course.
- The supervisor acts as the examiner for the student’s report.
- The supervisor must facilitate contact with the programme leader in case of issues between the student and the internship site.
The programme leader’s role in connection with the project-oriented course is defined as follows:
- The programme leader refers students to RIO if they have trouble finding a company.
- The programme leader is the person students should contact in case of conflicts with the internship site. The programme leader is supported by U&K, with possible involvement of the Student Guidance.
The Study Board’s role in connection with the project-oriented course is defined as follows:
- The Study Board is responsible for evaluating the project-oriented course.
The norm for the project-oriented course is set as follows:
Project-oriented courses
1st examination attempt
Subsequent examination attempts
5 ECTS credits
4 working hours
No further compensation
10 ECTS credits
4 working hours
No further compensation
15 ECTS credits
5 working hours
No further compensation
20 ECTS credits
6 working hours
No further compensation
30 ECTS credits
7 working hours
No further compensation
The amendment will take effect from 1st September 2024. A sunset clause is established for the above, set to the earliest possible date following the renegotiation of the norm agreement in connection with the evaluation in Spring 2025.
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The standardisation of work related to examinations is determined based on the following norms multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the course.
ECTS credits scope
Compensation per student enrolled on the course
Courses with a scope of up to and including 7 ECTS
30 minutes
Courses with a scope of between 7.5 ECTS up to and including 10.5 ECTS
50 minutes
Courses with a scope of between 11 ECTS up to and including 15 ECTS
60 minutes
Courses with a scope of between 15.5 ECTS up to and including 20 ECTS
70 minutes
The compensation for examinations includes tasks related to the preparation of exam questions, handling of exam complaints, reporting plagiarism, and re-examinations.
For courses where the final assessment is based on class participation, the compensation is set at 15 minutes multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the course.
Compensation for self-study subjects follows the above norm in relation to ECTS weight. If the self-study subject is worth less than 7.5 ECTS, the norm for "Courses up to and including 7 ECTS" is applied. There is no supervision associated with self-study subjects.
The number of students enrolled in the course is recorded on 1st October and 1st March.
In the case of exam complaint decisions where the student is granted either a re-examination or a re-assessment, compensation is awarded to the appointed assessors according to the above compensation based on the course's scope.
For oral defences related to theses and master's projects, see section 6.3. -
In cases where the course description specifies that an internal examiner participates in oral exams, the internal examiner is compensated for the actual time spent on the oral exam multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the course.
In cases where the course description specifies that an internal examiner participates in:
- an oral exam with a preceding written product, or
- exceptionally, a written exam,
the internal examiner is compensated as follows:
ECTS credits scope
Compensation per student enrolled on the course
Courses with a scope of up to and including 7 ECTS
30 minutes
Courses with a scope of between 7.5 ECTS up to and including 10.5 ECTS
50 minutes
Courses with a scope of between 11 ECTS up to and including 15 ECTS
60 minutes
Courses with a scope of between 15.5 ECTS up to and including 20 ECTS
70 minutes
The number of students enrolled in the course is recorded on 1st October and 1st March.
Addendum: Internal Examination with Part-Time Lecturers
Agreed between Parties A and B on 8th February 2022
It has been agreed that compensation for internal examination is not automatically granted in cases where the exam is conducted by a part-time lecturer (DVIP) who is not yet independent or requires mentoring in connection with exam assessment.
There is consensus that it may be beneficial for a full-time academic (VIP), whether the subject coordinator or another, to mentor a part-time lecturer without grading experience regarding the grading standards for a given course.
There is also agreement that full internal examination compensation cannot be granted for all tasks in the aforementioned cases, but a model where the VIP reviews some "sample" tasks from the top and bottom of a batch of tasks would be acceptable.
It is possible for department heads to allocate individually decided compensations for this ad hoc mentoring of part-time lecturers without grading experience. In this context, it should be noted that teaching assistants must be granted separate examination rights to conduct exams. Examination rights are granted in connection with the academic assessment during the application for the position. -
If multiple instructors are responsible for the teaching, the compensation is divided among them.
Addendum agreed between Parties A and B on 20th December 2022:
Instructors who act as guest lecturers internally within the faculty's programmes are compensated according to section 6.1 of the standard agreement for each teaching session (3.5 hours for teaching and preparation). The regular instructor's compensation is reduced by the number of hours the guest lecturer covers. It is assumed that the regular instructor is not present during the guest lecturer's sessions. If the regular instructor participates in the lecture, they receive 1.25 hours for teaching and preparation.
For external guest lecturers, the above principle also applies, but it is assumed that the instructor has some preparation for the teaching when an external guest lecturer is involved. -
As a general rule, class splitting occurs when there are 61 enrolled students. However, the head of the department may determine a different number for class splitting (both higher and lower). The final decision on the size, merging, and duplication of classes is made by the head of the department in dialogue with the Head of Studies and the study board. In assessing whether class duplication is necessary, consideration is given to the nature of the academic discipline, the ECTS frequency, and other relevant factors.
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For teaching conducted outside normal teaching hours (after 6 pm on weekdays, and on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays), instructors are compensated with 4 working hours for preparation and teaching time for each contact hour.
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Compensation for teaching and preparation in courses with teaching methods that differ significantly from typical methods (such as lectures and class teaching) is negotiated individually with the head of the department, involving the union representative.
Compensation for examination formats that differ significantly in scope from the set compensations for ECTS is negotiated individually with the head of the department, involving the union representative.
Addendum agreed between Parties A and B on 8th February 2022:
Compensation for subjects where supervision constitutes the majority of the teaching must be negotiated with the head of the department, involving the Head of Studies and the union representative. -
Teaching or examinations conducted at a different educational site from where one is primarily employed are assigned a norm according to the following key:
- Kolding – Odense: 2 hours per teaching session
- Kolding – Sønderborg: 2 hours per teaching session
- Sønderborg – Odense: 4 hours per teaching session
- Slagelse – Odense: 2 hours per teaching session
For travel to multiple educational sites, the highest norm applies.
Compensation can also be granted for travel related to supervision, such as for BA projects and theses, but supervision of students at campuses other than the employee's main campus should, as far as possible, be conducted virtually.
No compensation is given for travel to staff meetings with the expectation of physical attendance at other campuses, as travel expenses are reimbursed. -
Agreed between Parties A and B on 8th February 2022
It has been agreed that compensation is not automatically granted if an academic staff member has subject responsibility for many courses.
It is possible for the head of the department – after specific assessment – to allocate individually decided compensations to academic staff who have subject responsibility for courses taught by a part-time lecturer (DVIP) who is not yet independent or requires mentoring in connection with course planning and execution. Compensation is given for ad hoc mentoring of less experienced part-time lecturers.
Such individually allocated compensations are financed from the department's normal operations. The rationale is that the use of part-time lecturers (especially teaching assistants) represents a significant cost saving for a course, and it is reasonable to consider that the necessary colleague mentoring is currently a hidden cost of using part-time lecturers, which should be accounted for and covered by the department receiving the ECTS. -
A distinction must be made between full teaching courses, which are compensated according to the standard agreement's general rules for compensation, and individual teaching hours, which should be compensated by agreement with the head of the department.
When determining individual teaching hours, the head of the department must consider the actual expectations from the requester regarding the teaching course, participation in meetings, etc. -
For the coordination of ATU activities, 10 working hours are allocated.
For conducting activities related to ATU (e.g., in-depth seminars, workshops, introductory seminars, etc.), 3.5 working hours are allocated for the first hour and 1.25 working hours for each subsequent hour.
For conducting other recruitment activities (e.g., masterclasses for advanced subjects, workshops for high school classes, or similar), 3.5 working hours are allocated for the first hour and 1.25 working hours for each subsequent hour.
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Administrative tasks related to research (such as head of centre, head of research, research programme manager, etc.) are compensated for via the departmental pool of funds.
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The following shows the agreed compensations, including negotiated changes as of 1st February 2025.
7.1.1 Supervision
PhD Supervision: If a co-supervisor is appointed, the compensation is divided between the main supervisor and the co-supervisor.
30 working hours per semester (total of 180 hours regardless of the duration of the course)
Assistent professor supervision
15 working hours per semester (total of 30 hours regardless of the duration of the course)
7.1.2 Assessment of Assignments/Theses/Research Applications
Prize Assignment Assessment:
20 working hours
PhD Thesis (Chair):
30 working hours
Doctoral Thesis (Chair):
60 working hours
Doctoral Thesis (Internal Member):
30 working hours
Internal Review (both Reviewer 1 and 2):
5 working hours
7.1.3 Assessment work in connection with hiring
PhD appointment:
3 working hours per applicant
Associate professorship and assistant professorship (chair)
(also includes postdocs and DIAS assistant professors):7 working hours in administration +
7 working hours per shortlisted applicantProfessorship (chair):
7 working hours in administration +
10 working hours per shortlisted applicant7.1.4 Assessment Work in Connection with the Professor Promotion Programme
1 assessment
8 working hours
2 assessments
12 working hours
3 assessments
16 working hours
4 assessments
20 working hours
7.1.5 Appointment committee for advertised full-time positions without obligation to carry on research:
Teaching associate professor, teaching assistant professor:
3 working hours for administration + 3 working hours per applicant.
Research assistant:
1 hour of work in administration + 1 working hour per applicant
7.1.6 Appointment committee for advertised academic part-time positions:
Part-time lecturer, assistant lecturer:
1 working hour for administration + 1 working hour per applicant
7.1.7 Employment in non-advertised academic part-time position:
Part-time lecturer, assistant lecturer:
1 working hour for administration + 1 working hour per employee
7.1.8 Other assessment tasks
Assessment when transitioning to teaching associate professorship:
3 working hours
Assessment when transitioning to associate professorship
(includestenure trackand DIAS assistant professors):14 working hours
Assessment when transitioning to professorship:
17 working hours
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Function
Working hours per semester
Collective union representative for the humanities (CUR):
170
Department union representative (DUR)
If not CUR 40
Liaison committee, vice-chair:
35
Liaison committee, ordinary member:
If not DUR 10
Health and safety representative
35
FAMU/HoAMU
15
CAMU
8
Academic council, chair
70
Academic council, ordinary member
6
Academic council, representative for the Heads of Study
6
PhD committee, ordinary member
10
Study board, ordinary member
15
Department council, vice-chair
15
Department council, ordinary member
6
Gender equality committee, ordinary member
6
HUM representative REC
25
HUM Representative library committee
6
Philosophy of Humanities, coordinator
5
University history committee, day-to-day manager
30
HUM Representative e-science Operations Board
40
HUM Representative DEiC
20
The above listed funtions are in force as of 1st February 2025.
Committee work estimated at less than 5 hours per semester is not compensated.
Other council, board, and committee positions are covered by the departmental pool of funds.
The above list may be changed following negotiation between the dean and the collective union representative.
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Other significant administrative tasks are compensated from the departmental pool by agreement with the head of the department.
For compensation for administrative tasks related to the role of Heads of Studies and/or chair of the study board, please refer to a separate local agreement.
For compensation for administrative tasks related to the role of PhD school director, please refer to a separate local agreement.
Addendum agreed between Parties A and B on 2nd December 2024:
The following administrative tasks are compensated as part of the standard agreement:Task
Working hours
APV, per completed survey
15
Compulsory Health and Safety course
25
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When transferring existing individual compensation banks, hours already accumulated in the bank up to and including 6 SKT are converted at a rate of 75 working hours per SKT, while additional SKT are converted at a rate of 68 working hours. For full-time lecturers, accumulated banks up to and including 12 SKT are converted at a rate of 75 working hours per SKT, with additional SKT converted at a rate of 68 working hours.
Existing agreements regarding the scheduling of research sabbaticals will be maintained. For transferred banks exceeding 900 hours, the employee and the head of the department will agree on a suitable reduction plan, taking into account the department's overall task portfolio.
PhD students/assistant professors with 2 years or less remaining in their employment and other fixed-term contracts entered into before the agreement's effective date will follow the old standard agreement until their employment expires. -
It has been agreed that, in connection with the implementation of the standard agreement, a liaison meeting will be held once per semester between the parties A and B to monitor the practical application of the standard agreement.
The first liaison meeting will be held in March 2022.
The agreement will be evaluated in the spring of 2025. -
This agreement applies from 1 February 2022 until otherwise agreed and supersedes all previously concluded local agreements, except the agreements referred to in item 8.
Disagreements about the interpretation of the agreement are to be submitted to the dean and collective union representative for academic staff for clarification.
For either party, the agreement may be terminated with one year’s notice by 1 February or 1 September.
University of Southern Denmark, 27 September 2021.
Simon Møberg Torp
Dean
Alexandra Holsting
Collective union representative for academic staff
Last Updated 07.03.2023